


And One Time She Did

by whitesilence



Series: Wabi Sabi [4]
Category: Captain America (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe, Thor (Movies)
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-05-28
Updated: 2015-05-28
Packaged: 2018-04-01 15:09:32
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,989
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4024510
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/whitesilence/pseuds/whitesilence
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>She smiled softly, reaching out to cup his jaw, knowing she was going to sound like a complete sap saying this: "Because you feel like home."</p><p>Parallels "And One Thing You Can't". Reading the previous installments of the series isn't required but is, at the very least, highly recommended.</p>
            </blockquote>





	And One Time She Did

**Author's Note:**

> Well here we are, at the close of the second act of a series I originally started out as a one shot of lighthearted fluff. At some point, it started to spiral out of control and grew into this thing that I just had to see through to the end. I want to thank all of the readers who have followed me on this. I know everyone says this but the kudos and reviews really have kept me going, especially after the unintended hiatus I took with "Five Times Darcy Didn't Need a Cybernetic Arm (But It Was Nice Having Bucky Around Anyway)".
> 
> As ever, you can find me on Tumblr as [whitesilenceinthesnow](http://whitesilenceinthesnow.tumblr.com/).

Darcy wasn't really sure how she'd gotten roped into this impromptu girl's night but it was nice to get out with the rest of the women that worked in the R&D labs. Especially since there weren't very many of them and they all kept erratic schedules depending on their research. As an added bonus, it gave Jane a more compelling reason to get out of the lab.

They were all gathered at a bar in Brooklyn, having come for a Sci-Fi themed slam poetry night and stayed to talk shop with the poets who were mostly grad students in the science departments of local colleges. Darcy rested her chin on her fist and watched Jane argue about the Standard Model with a doctoral candidate. She was about to intervene when Natasha slid into the chair next to her. Darcy didn't even jump this time.

"So," she began, delicately sipping a Pan-Galactic Gargle Blaster, "How was the date?"

"That was, like, three weeks ago." Darcy replied, knocking back her own alien brain hemorrhage. "I'm surprised you haven't gotten all the dirty details out of Bucky yet. He mentioned something about sparring with you this morning."

The spy had missed the day of their actual date, having been out of town on "business".

"I wanted to hear it from you."

"It went really well. Thanks for getting us that reservation."

Natasha waved off her thanks in favor of gossip. "Just really well or _really_ well, really well?"

" _Really_ well, really well."

The spy grinned, delighted. "Aaand...?"

"I can tell my dad that I have a boyfriend now?"

She gave her an exasperated sigh. "Jane is right. You're moving only slightly faster than paint drying."

"Hey! Paint dries pretty fast!" Darcy pointed out. "Progress is progress. Why is everyone so interested anyway?"

"We're gossipy old ladies and you two are the most interesting thing going on right now?"

"Right, because maintaining intergalactic peace isn't interesting enough." Darcy rolled her eyes. "Don't tell me. There's a pool on us getting married or something."

The other woman very obviously avoided her gaze in favor of sipping her hideous drink.

"Tell me there isn't!"

"Mmm, there isn't."

"Natasha!"

"It's Tony this time."

"When?!"

"That would be cheating."

Darcy sighed in the manner of the heavily put upon. "Can we split the pot again? I'm guessing I'm going to need some help paying for this wedding you all are planning for us."

The spy leaned back in her chair with the look of a cat who'd gotten both the canary and the cream. "Don't worry. It'll all be on Tony."

 

~*~

 

"Penny for your thoughts?" she asked.

"Hmmm?"

They were sprawled out on the small lawn in the middle of the green space on top of the tower, soaking up the warm summer sun. Bucky, finally comfortable enough around her to go shirtless, lay on his back staring up at the fluffy white clouds. His arm was flopped across Darcy's waist where she lay with her head propped against his side, attempting to tan in her new two piece bathing suit. Bucky's reaction to it had been pretty amusing, somehow having missed the invention and proliferation of the bikini. She'd been afraid his eyeballs would pop out.

"What are you thinking about, Buckster? I can hear the little hamster running on that wheel in your head."

He snorted and shook his head. "Nothing important. Just how good the sun feels. How nice it is to be warm. How nice it is to be here with you."

She laced their fingers together and craned her head over to smile up at him, meeting his self-deprecating gaze. "This is one of my favorite places to be."

"Steve said Tony had it built for Pepper but since she's always traveling, she doesn't come up here much."

"No, I meant just being with you." Darcy sat up and braced her free arm in the grass on the other side of his waist so she could look at him. "It doesn't matter where we are or what we're doing, I like spending time with you and I just want you to be happy."

"But why?" He blurted out, red blossoming on his cheeks.

She smiled softly, reaching out to cup his jaw, knowing she was going to sound like a complete sap saying this: "Because you feel like home."

 

~*~

 

Darcy glanced up from her workstation to see Bucky standing in the doorway of the main lab still dressed in tactical gear. He must have come down immediately after his return from wherever the team had gone this time. They had left before the sun was up that morning, short on notice and even shorter on details. The smile forming on her lips was wiped away by the expression on his face. She slid off her spaceship chair and went to him, letting him draw her into his arms.

"Darcy...," He breathed raggedly into her hair, clasping her hard to his chest. Whatever they’d been doing, he’d clearly had a rough time of it.

"You alright?," she asked, her voice slightly muffled by his jacket. The scent of sweat, gunpowder, leather and something that was uniquely Bucky curled into her nostrils.

Instead of answering, he pressed a kiss into her hair before pulling back to kiss her lips. She smoothed her hands down his back, feeling the tension in the muscles there. She deepened the kiss, allowing him to push her back against the counter that ran the length of the wall. His hands fell to her waist, lifting her onto the counter as effortlessly as he might lift a feather pillow. His hands then moved upwards, the slide of cool fingers under the hem of her shirt sent a shiver down her spine.

As for her own fingers, she was busy reaching for the fastenings of his jacket, pulling it open and pushing his sweater and undershirt up to feel the smooth skin beneath. He shrugged the jacket off, hardly noticing when it landed in a heap on the floor, his hands going right back under her clothing and straight for her breast. She wrapped her legs around his hips and pulled him closer.

It was the sound of boxes falling to the ground and a squeaky "Oh my god, get a room!" that gave them pause.

She giggled against Bucky's still lips. "Not like I've never found you and Thor doing the exact same thing."

"Yes but this is MY lab!" Jane shot back, her hand clapped over her eyes.

"We're both dressed, Jane." Darcy replied wryly, as she slid off the counter, pressing closer to Bucky who had frozen in place at Jane's sudden entry. Darcy nudged him away from the counter and turned to face Jane.

"It's like seeing my sister getting busy with a guy! It's scarring! I'm scarred! Maybe for life, Darcy!"

"Awww," Darcy cooed with mock sweetness. "You say the nicest things."

"Ha ha." Jane replied, dropping her hand.

"You know what would be nicer though?"

"What?"

"The rest of the day off." She wrapped her arms around an unmoving Bucky. "My boyfriend needs some TLC."

Jane sighed, no doubt thinking of Thor. "Alright, alright, go!"

Darcy grinned widely, pushing Bucky towards the door. "Thanks, boss!"

Jane flapped her hand at the couple as they passed. "Yeah, yeah, just make sure you get to his apartment first!"

Darcy just laughed. "Hey Jane!"

"Hmmm?" The astrophysicist was already absorbed in her work.

"Don't work too late."

"I won't."

"Uh-huh. I'll set Jarvis on you!"

"Shoo!"

~*~

  
She padded into the kitchen on bare feet to get a glass of water. The clock on the microwave blinking 02:30 at her in beady red numbers.   
  
"Jarvis?" she asked the ceiling. "Is Jane still in the lab?"   
  
"Yes, Miss Lewis. She is in the applied physics lab."   
  
Darcy sighed heavily and set her glass on the counter. Jarvis wouldn't have been able to reach Jane in the applied physics lab since it was on an isolated system. In fact, the lab could be sealed off entirely in the event of a quantum mechanical emergency. She wasn't sure what exactly a quantum mechanical emergency was or what one would even look like but she wasn't particularly keen on finding out.   
  
For a moment she thought of Bucky, sound asleep in bed, finally able to relax into an exhausted sleep after whatever had happened on his mission. She still wasn't clear on what that was, he'd refused to speak of it, preferring to hold her close for the rest of the day. The thought of going back to bed and curling up next to him almost had her leaving Jane to her work but in the end, duty won out. She put on her bunny slippers and headed downstairs.   
  
When she got to the lab where Jane worked on her prototypes, she found the astrophysicist hunched over the computer that controlled the quantum field generator.   
  
"Didn't I tell you not to work too late?"   
  
"Oh hey, Darcy." The scientist replied, distractedly. "I thought I told you to go with Bucky?"   
  
"That was, like, twelve hours ago. What are you doing anyway? It's almost three in the morning."   
  
"Oh! I just got this great idea." Jane said as she typed, fingers flying over the keyboard. "I'll have to get Tony to go over the programming tomorrow but I think I could have my own wormhole generator up and running by the end of the week. All I had to do was combine the quantum field generator with the device we used in London and this navigational mod-"   
  
"Whoa, whoa, whoa! Jane slow down." Darcy placed a hand over the other woman's fingers to still them. "Why don't you take a break and pick this up later today?"   
  
"Oh no need." Jane chirped. She pulled her hands away and reached over to flip a switch on the side of the generator. "I'm done. Just need to restart the generator, let the new code install and it should be ready in the morning."   
  
"It's already morning."   
  
The scientist closed a panel and straightened. "Okay, okay, I'm coming, Nanny Lewis."   
  
Darcy rolled her eyes. "It's what you pay me for."   
  
Jane patted the generator and headed for the door. Darcy followed her, flipping the light off as she exited. She was about to hit the button to close the heavy safety door when a soft glow emanating from the generator caught her eye.   
  
"Hey Jane..." she called. "Is it supposed to be glowing?"   
  
"No..." The scientist ran back to the machine and began pressing buttons, fingers flying over the keyboard. Darcy came up behind her and looked over Jane's shoulder. The screen built into the side of the generator was filled with scrolling code as Jane searched for the cause of whatever was going wrong.   
  
Suddenly, the quantum field sprang to life above the generator, a shapeless blob the size of a basketball hovering in the air. It began to spin, slowly at first but gradually gaining speed and, more worryingly, size.     
  
"Did you do that?" Darcy demanded. "Why's it growing? That's not supposed to happen, right?"   
  
"I don't know, Darcy!" Jane exclaimed, fear and excitement in her voice. "I didn't touch anything to do with the automation subroutines. It shouldn't even have started on it's own."   
  
"Well, if it keeps getting bigger, then we're going to run out of room in here."   
  
"I'm sure it'll collapse before that happens. We've never been able to sustain a field bigger than ninety six cubic feet before."

Ninety six cubic feet was about the size of her desk and it was not exactly on the small side. "Not reassuring, Jane!"

  
"I designed this thing to have limits. It can't get much bigger than that anyway because it doesn't have the electrical capacity to keep expanding."

Darcy's desk would take up a good quarter of the of room they were in. “Still not reassuring!”  
  
In all their tests, the machine had operated as designed until heat or electrical overload caused a system failure, usually before it came anywhere near the fail safes Jane had built in. This time appeared to be no different, as it neared the size of a neighboring storage cabinet, it began to wobble. But instead of simply collapsing in on itself and shorting out the electronics with a mostly harmless shower of sparks, the generator continued to pull more and more power.   
  
Suddenly, the lights in the lab cut out, leaving only the emergency lights in the hallway, and all of the networked computers began flashing red warnings on their screens.

  
"Quantum field at critical mass." The control computer announced. "Shutdown all systems and evacuate the area immediately."   
  
"Jane! What did you do?!" Darcy demanded.   
  
"I don't know!" the other woman cried, frantically flipping switches. "I'm trying to shut it down but it's self-sustaining somehow!"   
  
Darcy dashed over and disconnected the power cord, only to find that Jane was correct. Even though the plug dangled in her hand, the quantum field continued to wobble and grow.   
  
"Lock down in one hundred twenty seconds." The computer said. "System meltdown imminent."   
  
"Really!?" Darcy yelled as she rushed to push Jane out the door. "You couldn't give us more time than that?"   
  
Jane wasted precious seconds continuing her shut down attempts as Darcy urged her to leave. Finally, Darcy hauled Jane away by the waist and shoved her through the door but she herself had to jump back as it slid shut in her face. The sound of locks thudding into place seemed abnormally loud to her. 

"I still had sixty seconds!" she protested but of course the door remained firmly locked. She swore and began pounding on the door's control panel with her fist. While the door didn't open, the intercom clicked on and she could hear Jane shouting.  
  
"Darcy, open the door!"   
  
"I can't!"   
  
"Where's Tony?" Jane was yelling at the ceiling now like a mad woman. Darcy couldn't hear Jarvis answer but she guessed that the owner of the building had been alerted and was on his way. She took a deep breath and tried to think. It was difficult but she managed to find some calm despite the countdown echoing around her.   
  
Then Bucky appeared in the window next to Jane, shirtless and disheveled from being woken out of a sound sleep and she felt her heart turn to ice in her chest.   
  
"What's going on?" he asked. Jane launched into an explanation that she barely heard, instead looking back at the growing quantum field that still showed no signs of stopping.   
  
She jumped when James began to ram his metal fist against the door in an attempt to break it down. It was in that moment that she knew she wasn't going to get out of this alive. Even Thor wouldn't be able to break through in time.   
  
"Bucky!"   
  
He stopped hitting the door to look up at her through the window. "Darcy!"   
  
"There's not much time, you have to go." she urged, trying to sound calmer than she felt. "I don't think this room is going to hold."   
  
"Not without you!" The assassin choked out. Darcy had never heard him so emotional before. "Don't ask me to leave you here. You can't ask me to leave you here."     
  
"You have to or you'll die too!"   
  
He shook his head in denial. "Open the door."   
  
She turned away, hand over her mouth so he wouldn't see her trembling lips. Out of the corner of her eye, she could see the quantum field taking up a good portion of the room now.     
  
"Don't make this any harder than it already is."   
  
"It doesn't have to be this way. Just open the door!" he pleaded.   
  
"You don't understand. I literally can't. Once the field generator hit super critical, the computer locked the room."   
  
"Can't you override it?"   
  
She shook her head. "There's not enough time."   
  
"Darcy..."   
  
Something in his voice made her look up at him and the emotions on his normally stoic face, illuminated by the light of the quantum field behind her, made her breath catch in her throat.   
  
"Just go!"   
  
But he only shook his head, reaching up to press a hand against the glass of the window. "No."   
  
She'd been prepared to argue, to push him away but in the end, that single, simply stated word crumbled her resolve and she could only sigh. "Oh Bucky, I wish... I wish we'd had more time."   
  
"Darcy..."   
  
She never got to hear what he was about to say because it was then that the generator failed.   
  
"I love you!" she shouted as the field blew out, throwing her against the door and blowing it out of the frame, before sucking her and everything that had been in the room back toward the center of the now collapsed quantum field.

 

  
  
Darcy came to with a gasp, her eyes flying open to complete and utter darkness. Reaching out, she found absolutely nothing. Her hair whipped past her face and it was then that she realized that she was in fact falling feet first like Alice down a rabbit hole.   
  
She continued to fall, how far or for how long she couldn't be sure but eventually, she saw a tiny speck of light below her quickly growing bigger. It didn't take long for it to completely fill her field of vision and then she was somehow slowing down.   
  
Her descent arrested to the point where she felt that she was more floating than falling and then, she was dropped to what she thought had to be the ground but really there was only gravity to help her distinguish which way was up and which way was down. Pushing herself up to her knees, she looked around but for as far as she could see, there was nothing but a soft white light.   
  
"Where am I?"


End file.
